PROXY Walk-in Theater + Film Festival

Starting in 2015, HERE FOR NOW and PROXY have brought a collection of the years best independent films to our Spring and Fall Film Festivals at the PROXY Walk-In Theater.

Each year, the festival seeks to not only curate films that resonate with the neighborhood but to use our platform to address difficult truths, foster self-reflection and create dialogue. Through free programming, we amplify voices and bring films not typically accessible to a wider community. We highlight stories, documentaries, and works by and about people of color and discuss the entwined nature of culture, identity, and place through films like Skate Kitchen, Sorry to Bother You, and Bisbee ‘17. With films like Whose Streets, we question the endemic supremacist processes that have forged US cities and even the very neighborhood we are located in. Panel discussions with the cast and crew of local films such as The Last Black Man in San Francisco and Try Harder! have forged deeper connections to the place and community represented in these films.

Each year, we continue to expand the range of voices and perspectives represented in the programming and hope to keep questioning our responsibility and place in this neighborhood.

Join us on our upcoming 2024 Spring Film Festival. More info to come soon.

Hayes Valley Carnival

The infamous Hayes Valley Carnival returns to the neighborhood each year with a joyous, community-centered celebration. In collaboration with PROXY, the Hayes Valley Merchants Association, and the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association, hundreds of people came out to enjoy this free, family-friendly celebration featuring a one-ring outdoor circus show by Circus Bella, live music by Rob Reich & the Circus Bella All-Star Band, performances and food and beverages from local vendors.

The original 1911 Hayes Valley Carnival was a celebration and reminder of the vibrancy and tenacity of the city post the destruction of the 1906 earthquake and resulting fires. In much the same way, this years return was a recognition of the neighborhood after two years of the pandemic – reinvigorating residents, businesses and the city at large with a celebration and bringing together of community.

With the success of last years’ anniversary celebration, we hope to bring the carnival back to the neighborhood annually; stay tuned.

An Intentional Shift

HERE FOR NOW, in collaboration with Kristin Damrow & Company, Studio O, and the Bayview Hunters Point community has received a Kenneth Rainin Foundation 2022 Open Space Program grant for “An Intentional Shift”.

“An Intentional Shift” brings closure to our work with NOW Hunters Point, the community-based activation project began in 2013. Through a series of workshops culminating in a final dance performance, the piece explores how communities inhabit space, how spaces influence bodies, and how design can bring communities together.

A core initiative of the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, the Open Space Program grants support partnerships between nonprofits and artists to create temporary, place-based public art projects that reflect and engage the diverse communities of San Francisco and Oakland.